01 July 2013

Hello July.

The arrival of July has stirred mixed feelings in me. On one hand, I'm lamenting the speedy passing of these summer days, but on the other, I'm excited for all the fun events this month brings! July means our annual neighborhood party and fireworks show...seeing the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks...the celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary...a Dickinson family reunion...and the 8th birthday of my favorite little girl. So lots of happy things to look forward to (and fingers crossed I don't blink and realize it's August!)

To kick off all the happy things going on in July, today I'm sharing some equally bright and happy layouts. They are also decidedly girly, but I promise to balance them out with some boy layouts later this week (I've created several with the JBS Mercantile Papercrafting Kit that goes on sale today!)

This first page is one I did for Lily Bee Design and it features Riely and her cousin Lilly consuming their favorite snack. I should note that the only reason either of them knows Cheetos exist is thanks to their Grandpa Larry. This is the same grandpa who sees no reason that the fried orange sticks cannot be nutritionally interchanged with carrots ("They're the same color!"). Which is why we leave the meal preparation to Nana.

Because my photos were all cropped to different sizes, I lined them up a bit wonky and tilted, rather than adhere them straight and call attention to their variations. I slipped in a die-cut index card and used letter stickers (I love the mix of sizes on these Lily Bee alphas!) to spell out the title.

I also added stitched circles around the page to subtly lead the eye through the design. The circles help to keep the journaling strips and heart accents from looking like they are floating randomly about the page. Plus the stitching adds a nice bit of texture to balance the chipboard and brads in the middle of the page.

This second page was one I did as a guest designer for Bella Blvd and I loved mixing up all the fun patterns in their various paper collections. I used my go-to grid design, but slanted it slightly for a whimsical feel. I also swapped out a few of the grid squares, using circles and flowers instead.

Each square is layered with lots of little embellishments that match the base paper color. I usually adhere all the layers using foam squares just to give a bit more lift and dimension. They are definitely the one supply I have to keep hearty stock of - I go through them super quick, especially creating layered looks like this!

And that's about all I've got for today! Hope you have a wonderful July 1 (and don't forget to check out the new Two Peas Garden that blooms today!)

Comments

Hello July.

The arrival of July has stirred mixed feelings in me. On one hand, I'm lamenting the speedy passing of these summer days, but on the other, I'm excited for all the fun events this month brings! July means our annual neighborhood party and fireworks show...seeing the Avett Brothers at Red Rocks...the celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary...a Dickinson family reunion...and the 8th birthday of my favorite little girl. So lots of happy things to look forward to (and fingers crossed I don't blink and realize it's August!)

To kick off all the happy things going on in July, today I'm sharing some equally bright and happy layouts. They are also decidedly girly, but I promise to balance them out with some boy layouts later this week (I've created several with the JBS Mercantile Papercrafting Kit that goes on sale today!)

This first page is one I did for Lily Bee Design and it features Riely and her cousin Lilly consuming their favorite snack. I should note that the only reason either of them knows Cheetos exist is thanks to their Grandpa Larry. This is the same grandpa who sees no reason that the fried orange sticks cannot be nutritionally interchanged with carrots ("They're the same color!"). Which is why we leave the meal preparation to Nana.

Because my photos were all cropped to different sizes, I lined them up a bit wonky and tilted, rather than adhere them straight and call attention to their variations. I slipped in a die-cut index card and used letter stickers (I love the mix of sizes on these Lily Bee alphas!) to spell out the title.

I also added stitched circles around the page to subtly lead the eye through the design. The circles help to keep the journaling strips and heart accents from looking like they are floating randomly about the page. Plus the stitching adds a nice bit of texture to balance the chipboard and brads in the middle of the page.

This second page was one I did as a guest designer for Bella Blvd and I loved mixing up all the fun patterns in their various paper collections. I used my go-to grid design, but slanted it slightly for a whimsical feel. I also swapped out a few of the grid squares, using circles and flowers instead.

Each square is layered with lots of little embellishments that match the base paper color. I usually adhere all the layers using foam squares just to give a bit more lift and dimension. They are definitely the one supply I have to keep hearty stock of - I go through them super quick, especially creating layered looks like this!

And that's about all I've got for today! Hope you have a wonderful July 1 (and don't forget to check out the new Two Peas Garden that blooms today!)